This invention relates generally to the apparatus for dispensing food products and, more particularly, to an ice cream dispensing assembly rotatably mounted to a container of food product.
In dispensing food products to be consumed by humans, it is desirable to have means for handling and serving the product in a manner that reduces possible contamination by germs and bacteria. Where food products are sold to the public at a fixed cost per serving, it is also desirable to dispense consistently sized serving portions. In order to retain the volume and texture of frozen products such as ice cream, sherbet, and yogurt, the product is ideally dispensed in a manner that does not compress the particles of air suspended in the frozen product.
There are several devices currently available for dispensing semi-frozen or soft-serve food products such as ice cream, frozen yogurt, whipped topping, cheesecake filling, and pudding. In many of these devices, the product is poured into the machine in its liquid state and chilled to a temperature that allows the product to be dispensed through a nozzle in a soft-serve state. There are several drawbacks with these devices including their inability to dispense food products that are frozen to a firmer state and the inability to automatically dispense consistently sized serving portions. Additionally, food product is often wasted when using these devices because unused product must be emptied periodically in order to clean the machine with a sanitizing solution. The product emptied from the machine is also generally not reusable.
Ice cream and other frozen food products that are frozen to a firm or hard state are often dispensed by hand using an implement such as a curved spatula or scoop. This manual process is slow, difficult, labor-intensive, and exposes the product to risk of contamination. It is also difficult to control the quantity of product dispensed per serving. U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,464 issued to Anderson teaches an apparatus for automatically dispensing hard ice cream that includes a conveyor mechanism for dispensing a predetermined quantity of food product. One drawback to the Anderson device, however, is that the conveyor mechanism compresses the frozen ice cream during delivery, thereby reducing the volume and changing the texture of the dispensed product. Another drawback is that the Anderson device is only designed for use with three gallon tubs and is not adaptable to various sizes and types of containers. It is further desirable to have a device which may be fitted to a container during manufacture or after the food product is placed in the container, and is disposable after use to reduce the possibility of food contamination.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to fulfilling these needs and overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
The present invention for dispensing food products such as ice cream, yogurt, sherbet, sorbet, whipped topping, cheesecake filling, pudding and the like, comprises an assembly designed to be mounted on and adjacent to a container of food product and to extend substantially across one half of the opening of the container. A removal portion of the assembly includes a retrieval arm with a lateral projection that has a longitudinal channel formed therealong between a shorter leading edge and a deeper trailing edge. In its preferred form, the channel has a tapered, generally semi-circular cross section with a smaller cross-sectional area adjacent the sidewall of the container and a larger cross-sectional area proximate to the center of the container. The assembly may be rotatable around the container with the trailing edge engaging the exposed layer of the food product. As the trailing edge cuts into the exposed layer of the food product, a thickness of the food product is cut away and is scraped up by the trailing edge of the retrieval arm, and the scraped up product is guided within the semi-circular channel and moved toward an opening or compartment at end of the channel having the larger cross-sectional area. Because of the shape of the channel formed by the leading and trailing edges, the scraped layer of food product, when guided through the channel, tends to roll back on itself and reaches the opening or compartment in a generally spherical shape. The product is dispensed using product forming means or a collection component to gather the product as it moves from the channel through the opening or compartment into the collection component, and forms it into the desired shape and size for the serving. After the product exits the collection compartment and enters the collection component, it can be expelled by the dispensing portion into a suitable holder.
The assembly is mounted so that the trailing edge of the retrieval arm engages the exposed layer of product. The assembly is attached to one end, the open end, of the container. The container may be fitted with a movable portion at the opposite end of the container so that as force is exerted on the moveable portion it pushes the product toward the assembly as it rotates and continues to remove the exposed layer of product. With this configuration, the trailing edge of the assembly remains engaged with product as the exposed layer is dispensed.
The assembly may be rotated by various means including manually, or with a drive mechanism such as a belt or a gear and sprocket assembly. Alternatively, the container may rotate while the assembly remains essentially stationary. Serving portions are controlled by the size of the channel in the assembly, the depth of the trailing edge engaged with the product, the number of rotations of the assembly around the container, and the forming and dispensing means.